HCG Service

Organizational Change for ESJ

Deep organizational change for equity and social justice requires a clear plan, measurable outcomes, and adaptive processes to best meet each client’s unique needs. HCG’s Seven Phases process and its Train the Trainer program help organizations develop the infrastructure that can create and sustain positive change.

man and woman sitting side by side by the tableby Jason Goodman

Overview

Summary and Values

Our Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) organizational change work utilizes our Seven Phase process and is designed for substantive, long-term transformation. Working closely with an organization’s internal team, this is a tailored top to bottom process that includes readiness work, assessment, extensive training, and the structured implementation of an ESJ lens in organizations culture and climate, internal policies and procedures and external facing work. Additionally, we offer a more advanced Train the Trainer certification series designed to support ongoing internal professional development within organizations.

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Seven Phases

We know that client passion and commitment can foster a desire to jump in and change
policies, but without an ESJ lens, there is no way that those policy changes can be implemented effectively. That is why we have a developmental process that builds infrastructure, trains extensively, and provides a glidepath for implementation. Each phase is represented in the diagram below followed by a corresponding high-level description.

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Train the Trainers

We offer a Train the Trainer for those who have gone through our advanced introductory series and are wanting to be a key leader and educator within their organization. This is a 24-hour series and can be broken up into time frames that work for participants. It usually is offered to no more than 12-15 participants within an organization because it is a substantial investment in professional development. We have an established curriculum and offer HCG Certification upon completion of the process.

Key Pillar

Seven Phases Breakdown

Phase 1: Leadership Training

This work is made or broken by the engagement of organizational leaders. Phase One is designed to give leaders the information necessary to effectively “message, model and advocate” for this work inside their organization and support them in addressing resistance.

Phase 2: Equity Team Development

We always ask that an internal team be developed and supported as the primary stewards of this work. Phase Two is where we interface with clients and support their Equity Team in assuming this stewardship role.

Phase 3: Training Pre-Assessment

This assessment is focused on those who will go through the training as it is not yet time to assess the entire organization. The information gathered here helps HCG design and implement its training process and respond as specifically as possible to any emerging needs.

Phase 4: Training Preparation

A common mistake in the consulting world is to start “cold”with training, forgoing any relationship building or level-setting of basic knowledge. Phase Four is designed to ease training participants into the experience so that the training can begin with some momentum.

Phase 5: Training

HCG conducts 27 hours of training on the specific ESJ issue being addressed. This is either in three full days with each day separated by a month for reflection and action, or nine 3-hour Zoom sessions with two weeks in between each session for application and discussion. The training is designed to develop participants’ knowledge, skill, and capacity in utilizing an ESJ Lens in all that they do within their work. Despite the substantial amount of time this training takes, it is only an advanced introduction when compared to the larger body of information one could know with respect to equity and social justice issues in our society. That said, it is substantially more information than almost any other training provides.

Phase 6: Training Post-Assessment & Summary of Next Steps

We utilize the data from the post-assessment to summarize the priorities identified by training participants, suggest where the implementation process can begin, and recommend the pace of change initially possible.

Phase 7: Implementation

This process involves the formation and training of implementation working groups focusing on culture and climate, internal policies and procedures, and external-facing work. It is also often necessary to provide some ongoing skill development in the form of “pro-tips” sessions which in turn enhance the implementation process.

Learning from previous cases are essential to achieve new goalsby Van Tay Media

Frequently Asked Questions

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Why does it take so long?

We know this is a solid time commitment, but we are also dealing with systems of inequity that have centuries of influence and thus it takes some time to develop enough knowledge and skill to address them effectively. Thus, HCG’s training is designed to provide the depth and breadth to achieve meaningful and lasting change.

What if leadership is not ready or willing?

It is almost impossible to enact any real change without leadership support. That is why we start with leadership and provide ongoing support in their roles. If a leadership team is not ready, we recommend starting with our Readiness Content in hopes that focused attention on building leadership capacity will lead to the possibility of long-term change.

How do we deal with resistance?

Resistance within an organization can be dealt with via leadership’s messaging, modeling, and advocating, through how we approach the training, and with strong and clear connections to the organization’s bottom line. While some measure of resistance is inevitable, its ability to derail the process is not.

Why can’t we do all ESJ issues at once?

Many consultants will offer these services and in our experience these “inch deep and mile
wide” approaches are always lacking in depth and do not translate to long lasting systems
change. Sure, they look good and make it seem that a lot is being done, but when assessed years later there is no indication of any meaningful change. Thus, these approaches trade efficacy for the appearance of broad, multi-issue commitment.

Why can’t we just do implicit bias work?

This type of training and programming does not look at systems and history and therefore has no capacity to support organizational change. If the hoped result is a slight shift in interpersonal dynamics along the lines of “do’s and don’t’s” then implicit bias work is the answer. But, if substantive change is desired, ESJ work is required.

Work With Us

Flexible Solutions

HCG’s fundamental commitment is to be a source of positive change with respect to equity and social justice issues. This central purpose stems from our personal beliefs, our hope for our society, and our commitment to our clients’ success and is expressed in everything we do.